1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inline skate provided with a shock absorber, and more particularly to an inline skate in which a plurality of air tubes for absorbing shocks transmitted to the respective wheels is installed at the inner upper end of a wheel bracket so as to allow the use of wheels having high hardness, to effectively increase the rolling speed of the wheels, to secure rider's safety, and to protect the knees and ankles from shock.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
As is well-known, a conventional inline skate, not shown, includes a boot body for receiving and fixing a rider's foot, a wheel bracket attached to the lower side of the boot body, and a plurality of wheels fixed by bearings installed to the wheel bracket that allow the boot body to roll.
The conventional inline skate exhibits excellent skating performance but insufficient walking performance. Due to these drawbacks, riders feel inconvenienced since they must wear ordinary shoes instead of the inline skates when climbing stairs or due to the fact that traveling a long distance while wearing the inline skates is uncomfortable. If the rider attempts to avoid the inconvenience of having to change into ordinary shoes when climbing stairs by attempting to climb the stairs in the inline skates, it is very dangerous in that the rider may slip and fall.
Moreover, since the conventional inline skate is equipped with bearings installed between the wheels and the wheel bracket for reducing friction of the wheels, sand may be introduced into the bearings and the bearings may be damaged due to the sand as the sand wears down the bearing during the rotation of the bearing.
In addition, since the boots of the conventional inline skates are heavy, they are inconvenient to carry and store.
For the purpose of overcoming the above disadvantages, roller shoes have been developed. At the rear bottom surface of the roller shoe, a roller is positioned such that its surface is exposed below that of the tread of the shoe. To use the roller shoe the rider lifts the front end of the roller shoe so as to travel for a desired distance using the roller. To be sure, since the roller is detachable, the rider can wear the roller shoes like the ordinary shoes.
However, it is difficult for the user to maintain their balance when using the roller function of the roller shoe as they must delicately concentrate their weight over the rear end of the shoe. As such, it is difficult to travel at any substantial speed using the roller shoes. Moreover, it is impossible to propel oneself using the conventional side thrust technique used when inline skating, and, as such, users must build up speed by running on their toes and then arching the foot back onto the roller to glide for some distance.
In addition, since the conventional inline skate and the roller shoes have no structure for absorbing shock from the ground, the boot must be reinforced so as to prevent the user's ankles from damage, thus increasing the weight thereof. Since the boot must be sufficiently tall to completely cover the ankles, the boot becomes very heavy so that it is inconvenient to carry. Though the boot is sufficiently high, the user's ankles and knees may be damaged due to impacting the ground during use or if the user collides with an obstacle.
When the wheels travel over an obstacle, since the conventional inline skate has no structure for absorbing shock, excellent balance is required to adapt to the shape of obstacles, and the user may lose his/her balance when traveling over the obstacle. This principle can be compared to riding a motorcycle without a shock absorber or a spring, where even a small obstacle generates a large shock.
In addition, the wheels of conventional inline skates are made of urethane so that they may exhibit a slight shock-absorbing effect of their own. However, since friction between these soft wheels and the ground is increased, it is difficult to accelerate and the wheels of the conventional inline skate wear out rapidly.